Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.. For the last time.. (even though I'll have to put this somewhere else anyways)
A/N: Yes! I have finally figured out how to use the uploading and yatta..
WARNING: this chapter is fluffiness to the EXTREME.. And a bit of OOC because of it.
Chapter three: Sakura's sorrow, and Comfort
Morning
Sakura woke exceptionally early this morning. Feeling refreshed and happy she bounded into the bathroom to brush her teeth, wash her face, and comb her hair. Downstairs Sakura greeted her parents and started on her breakfast. While eating she thought about yesterday. Sasuke-kun kissing me, or rather 'rescuing'.. and the accident that I hope was an ACCIDENT. Inner Sakura: He really does like you back! Stop denying it and go forth! But if I believe it, I can get my hopes crushed to smithereens. I need to know what Sasuke's true feelings are. Sakura was thankful for today's mission-free day. She really needed it to think and find someone to confide in.
At the Ichiraku Sakura found Hinata off by herself and decided to strike up a conversation.
"Ai, Hinata-san, what are you doing by yourself?" Sakura asked walking up to Hinata's table and taking a seat.
"S-sakura, you're here, m-maybe we can chat while I'm w-waiting for N-n-naruto-kun to show up." Hinata answered shyly. Sakura had found the perfect confidant of her thoughts.
"Don't worry, Naruto will show up." Sakura carefully reassured Hinata in order to start on the topic of Sasuke. "Hinata, can I tell you something about Sasuke-kun?"
"Of c-course Sakura, I know that you l-l-like Sasuke."
"Well, yesterday on a mission.. Sasuke-kun kissed me!" Sakura blurted out.
"W-what!" Hinata said with some force.
"Well, I had almost drowned and it was meant to save me, but it still counts as kissing because I regained consciousness." Sakura looked down and blushed for sharing this information.
"Uh h-hunh." said Hinata, interested.
"That isn't all, early evening I was only in a towel and I caught him peeping.." Sakura leaned over and whispered it.
"Sasuke certainly l-likes you b-back," Hinata said just as Naruto walked into the restaurant. "oh, it's N-n-naruto-kun, see you later Sakura." Hinata left Sakura in her own thoughts. So much for personal confidant.. But at that moment Sakura realized she didn't really like Sasuke as much as before, otherwise she would mind talking about him..
Sasuke woke up with a pounding headache. Sitting up in his futon, Sasuke rubbed his temples. Hands moving toward the middle of his forehead, he winced in pain. I still can't believe I got knocked-out by a rock thrown by a girl.. Why did I not look away? Well, suffering in pain is what teaches me to look away next time I guess. Sasuke's head swirled in dizziness as he got up and walked to the bathroom. A swollen black and blue lump poked out of the middle of his forehead. Poking it gave him a swift bolt of pain through his head. I'm staying home today, thank you Kakashi-sensei for no missions, no Naruto, and no Sakura.. Sasuke's mind lingered over the last name. Sakura.. smart, beautiful, charming. W-WAIT! What the hell am I thinking! I don't think I know myself anymore.
"Ai, that bump must have shook up more than I thought.." Sasuke grimaced at the thought of actually FALLING IN LOVE. Shaking it off he decided to go to the river to think.
"It's too revealing!" Sakura complained after changing into a sexy, black two-piece swimsuit that her mother had purchased.
"Come on! No one's at the river right now anyway! And I'm dying of heatstroke!" goaded Ino in a violet one to match Sakura's.
"Fine." Sakura reluctantly subdued to Ino's demands. Both grabbed towels and headed for the river.
At the river the crisp, refreshing water delighted them. Sakura and Ino splashed contentedly in the shining blue waters unaware of someone approaching. In the cool shade Sasuke was dozing off some of the pain. He woke to the splashing and yells coming from the river. He felt nauseous but wanted to find out what it was. Peeking through some leaves the sight that came to his eyes was...interesting.
Sakura.. in a two-piece bathing suit! Sasuke's first thought was to look away before he regretted it, but Sasuke couldn't take his eyes off Sakura. Look away NOW. Before you know what will happen.. I'll have two lumps on my head.. (aww.) Sasuke eventually acted on his thoughts and took a step back, cracking a twig. The sound caused both girls to stop and Sasuke to yell at himself to run. Run damnit! Before I get killed..
Luckily Sasuke's legs reacted and he sped off to the safety of his own home. Is nowhere private anymore! Why didn't I move when I wanted to? Trying to calm himself down Sasuke looked out the window and saw Naruto trying to open it. Naruto saw he was found and yelled, falling off of the second floor. Flailing out as he fell, Naruto hit a low streetlight and then slipped off landing into a wide trash bin. Ow. Pain. In a place that doesn't exist..
Stupid Naruto, trying to spy on me.. what would he want? Sasuke grumbled to himself as he flopped onto the futon falling asleep.
"What was that?' Ino asked Sakura who had come back from looking into the bushes.
"I didn't see anything," Sakura shrugged. "Ino, I'll be going home now, it's getting late." Sakura changed into normal clothes and took her towel heading home.
In the midst of a sunset there came smoke. Smoke became hazy in the sunshine. What's the smoke coming from? Sakura thought. She quickened her pace home. The sight that she came to was dreadful. Her whole house had burned close to that ground. Med-ninjas were carrying her parents in stretchers.
"My parents! What happened?" Sakura ran to her father's side.
"They'll be okay, just badly burned and injured," a official assured her "I'm sorry but we don't have anywhere for you to stay so you will have to find a friend's to sleep at or something."
Sakura's face was blank. How could this have happened? It started to rain. Maybe my tears can't come from my eyes, it comes from the sky.. The warm summer rain plastered her clothes to her bare skin. Sakura wandered Konoha village seeking what unknown object her heart yearned for. It seemed like hours before any clear images came to her mind. By then she had stopped walking, in front of her was Sasuke's door. Is this what I seek?
She leaned against the door seeking some kind of inner warmth from it.
Upstairs Sasuke's nap was interrupted by a thump on the door. Who could it be? Head throbbing, he shuffled downstairs and to the door.
Hearing footsteps Sakura got up and was tempted to knock.
The door opened.
Sasuke stared at a sad girl with limp, dangling hair, steaks of mud on her face, and blank eyes devoid of anything but gloominess.
Sakura's eyes saw clearly Sasuke in nightclothes, his bangs hanging limp without his hitai-ate (headband), and his bruise that was still pretty purple. Her eyes had seen him, but in her mind the picture was fuzzy and unfocused.
Blank eyes suddenly dulled and Sakura's body pitched forward. Sasuke readied himself to catch her but was still knocked back some by the force of her fall. Shifting her weight around he managed to turn her and carry her bridal-style into the house, closing the door with his bare foot. Laying Sakura gently on the couch he went into the kitchen to prepare mushroom broth (yum).
Sakura's eyes flickered and tried to focus. She smelled mushroom broth and tried to get up. Struggling because the energy was drained, she gave a sigh just as Sasuke walked back in with the soup. Looking around the living room Sakura noticed his furniture seemed bachelor-ish. A coffee table, single seats, one long sofa which she lay on, and a television on a Blackwood shelf with a collection of assorted cds and other random things placed there carefully. Sasuke's house was really organized and in order. I bet Naruto's house is the very opposite of this.
"Don't get up, you must be tired. Let me help." Sasuke propped her up with a pillow and slowly fed the warm soup to the kunoichi. Surprisingly, Sakura wasn't blushing like mad.. her thoughts were too scrambled for her even to think about how this looked.
After he finished feeding Sakura the soup Sasuke got up and looked at her. There seems something wrong.. He then realized Sakura was all muddy and getting more mud on the nice, clean sofa.
"Can you get up now?" Sasuke didn't feel like, or want to carry her all the way upstairs, to the only shower in the whole house.
"Uh hunh." nodded Sakura. Both of them walked upstairs and Sasuke ushered Sakura into the bathroom while he went to his closet searching for something for her to change into.
In the bathroom Sakura looked around. Sasuke bathroom was surprisingly clean. All the clothes were in the hamper, none hanging out, there wasn't any hair or anything strewn anywhere, and most everything was in its proper place. Sakura undressed and stepped into the shower sliding the door behind her. There was shampoo, conditioner, and a bar of soap on a shelf attached to the shower's wall. Turning the knobs, Sakura stood in the steady stream of warm water scrubbing her body. She shampooed and conditioned then rinsed and took a clean towel from the rack and wrapped it around herself.
Out of the bathroom Sakura came with only a towel. Sasuke looked up and blushed, then looked down quickly handing the t-shirt and shorts he had picked out of the closet. Sakura went back in to get dressed and came out. The t-shirt was very long and covered the shorts. Sakura's hair was still damp so she used the towel to rub it furiously.
By now, Sakura's thoughts had come into focus. She looked at Sasuke and saw the bump. Walking over and touching it gently Sasuke didn't squirm away.
"Be back in a second." Sakura looked through the whole house for medicinal herbs, seeing its only occupant neatly kept the whole house. Back in Sasuke's room she mixed up some of the herbs creating a salve, which she put on Sasuke's forehead.
Both ready for bed, they looked at the single futon and took a second to put two and two together. THERE WAS ONLY ONE BED!
"Erm, it's okay Sasuke; I'll sleep on the couch." Sakura started walking out of his room.
"No," Sasuke said grabbing her wrist "we can share the bed, I'll get another blanket and pillow." Sasuke found he only had a summer blanket and a thicker one for colder nights. He decided he could endure sleeping under the thick one. Sasuke took off his shirt because it was a stuffy summer night. Both crawled into the futon and faced opposite directions.
"Thank you Sasuke." Sakura murmured before falling asleep, but Sasuke was already breathing softly.
Early the next morning Sasuke woke up. He stared at the ceiling and blinked away the sleep. Sakura's medicine worked, my head isn't swirling anymore. Sasuke then realized there was something soft on his chest. Hoping desperately it was a pillow, he slowly looked down. A pink mass of hair was lying back on a face of soft, curved features. His cheeks burned with fire. Sakura wasn't even smiling. Her face was squeezed into a look of torture. Fat tears slipped from her eyes and rolled down her rosy, blotched cheeks. The tears fell stinging Sasuke's bare chest.
In Sakura's dreaming thoughts she felt a warm body against her own. With her arms around it she squeezed harder for some comfort. Her eyes opened and she looked straight, seeing the wall. Turning to the right Sakura's nose brushed against Sasuke's chest and she took a deep breath of his lingering scent. Sakura looked up at a very rosy-cheeked Sasuke and saw the position they were in, blinking a few times to make sure she wasn't dreaming.
"Neh, Sasuke, how did this happen?" Sakura asked casually.
"Um, um, I d-don't know." Sasuke stumbled over his words as his voice got huskier. Not daring to speak lest he voice gave away his feelings he tried to sit up but Sakura pressed down and buried her face into the nape of his neck. Her warm breath tickling him. Sasuke pushed her back and kissed her on the forehead. Sakura looked down and traced Sasuke's collarbone. Her touch left a burning sensation on him. W-what am I feeling? Sasuke didn't know what it was, but he liked the feeling. He got up and put on his shirt. Sakura played with his shirt collar.
"Would you like breakfast?" Sasuke asked at his voice returned to normal. Sakura nodded.
"Thank you again Sasuke, I don't know how I'll repay you." Sakura said gratefully thinking, though I think I already have.. Both of them went downstairs and Sasuke cooked breakfast. After breakfast Sakura was going to change when Sasuke saw her clothes were muddy so he decided to wash them for her and she stayed in the lent clothes. The whole day Sakura was afraid to go out in case anyone saw her so she stayed in and used Sasuke's phone. Sasuke spent the day thinking. What happened this morning? Why did it feel so.. right? He racked his brains finding no answers but was happy that he could actually think straight and thanked Sakura for the salve.
The next day Sakura spent some time telling Sasuke about the incident and he felt much sympathy. He told her she could stay as long as she needed to. After lunch they decided to go for a walk.
As Sasuke and Sakura exited his house Ino was walking by and spotted them together. Sasuke and Sakura! Together, coming out of his house! The scene took a stab at her heart. All those years of competing against Sakura for Sasuke, wasted, how could it have happened? Ino now sought for her own comfort.
End of Chapter
Done! Told you this chapter was way longer..
Please review Next Chapter: Ino and Shikamaru, Naruto and Hinata.. (if that fits.. if not I'll think of something else.)
thankies- Raiena
